Listed at 6-3 and 300 pounds, Pittsburgh Steelers DL Breiden Fehoko is a big man. While Fehoko, who suffered an injury in training camp, was released, and since circled back to the practice squad, hasn’t played a game for the Steelers this season, he thinks the game is trending more towards guys like him. Appearing on The Christian Kuntz Podcast, Fehoko broke down why he thinks football is going back to trending toward bigger guys and moving away from the era where speed was king.
“I think football is a revolving wheel. And I think we’re at the point in football where the wheel is starting to turn back to 2010, 2011-esque football. A lot of 21 personnel, 22, 13, heavy with an extra offensive lineman. Big receivers on the outside. From 2016-17ish, it was all speed. Doug Pederson in Philly, they had all these gadgets, RPOs, Chip Kelly introducing them to the NFL. Tyreek Hill’s, your Jaylen Waddle’s, all these guys that could take the top off a defense,” Fehoko said.
Fehoko said teams have combated speed by adding more size and mixing and matching with heavier personnel. He thinks the NFL will keep “going in a circle” with teams now looking to draft bigger, “mauler” players.
The Steelers have traditionally been a team that has prioritized size, and with Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator this season, the Steelers have utilized 12 and 13 personnel frequently, with over 100 plays this season out of those heavier packages. But Pittsburgh isn’t alone, as around the league, teams have trended to use more multiple tight end sets as the run game has once again become a bigger factor after the league went a little more pass-happy in the mid-2010s.
Fehoko makes a good point about teams combating speed with size, which works especially well on offense. If teams are going to go into smaller packages defensively, then offenses can bring out heavier units and run the ball effectively. Defensively, teams need to combat that by matching the size, which leads to bigger players being prioritized more.
It’s an interesting comment by someone who obviously understands the game at a high level. Fehoko pointed out how even teams like the Kansas City Chiefs frequently utilize 12 personnel now. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in football, and the Chiefs are opting to go bigger instead of looking to get more speed on the field. At this point, it really is becoming the trend more than relying on speed. If you look at some of the speedier receivers in the league, like Waddle and Hill, they’re not playing all that well this season. While there are some other factors impacting those two specifically, the fact is that bigger personnel seem to be here to stay, at least until the wheel turns again and teams look to combat size with speed.
